OMG it's Gaara!
by InvaderKrii
Summary: Nooby title, I know. Hopefully you think the story's better. The first part is... eh. T, just in case.
1. Chapter 1: Gaarasan

A/N - Submitted again, at the urging of my friend. The first part is a bit less... good than the others, I guess. Gaara will be somewhat out of character.  


OMG it's Gaara!  


Chapter one: Gaara-san

Riia groaned, as she hoisted her messenger bag onto her shoulder, picked up her lunch bag and sketchpad, and started towards the door of the school. It was Friday, and, thank the heavens, the last day of school. Fridays had stopped being fun the moment she'd entered Seventh Grade, having been full of homework.

She pushed open the door, smiled, and inhaled deeply. Time for a whole three months of freedom that would fly by like two weeks. At least the school year had gone by just as fast. She followed the sidewalk, and took her lonely path home. Life was too boring. The most she could do to liven it up was draw, and fantasize, mostly about Zim and Gaara.

The thirteen-year-old adjusted her strap, and turned a corner. At least Cartoon Network was having a summer vacation Naruto special today. She could look forward to that.

Suddenly there was a loud thud just behind her, and Riia froze. "Oohh…" She slowly turned around, and recoiled in shock when she realized that SABAKU NO GAARA had FALLEN OUT OF A TREE. Riia's mouth dropped open, and she bit her lip. Her heart was going a mile a minute, and then Gaara noticed her.

He stood up. "Gaa-?" She couldn't finish. Gaara had rushed up, and placed a kunai on her neck. She stared at him, fear in her eyes, and sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Shut up. You don't talk unless you're answering my questions." Riia nodded. "Who are you?"

"Riia."

"I don't see a headband on you. Where are you from?" Riia didn't answer that one. "I said: Where are you from?"

"It doesn't exist in your world."

"My world?"

"Look around you, Gaara-san. Does this look like any of the nations you know?" Briefly he wondered how she knew his name, then looked up. Indeed, this was a world of stone pathways and tremendous buildings. Things on wheels dashed back and forth on the larger, black paths, and the pack and clothes Riia wore were truly not anything he'd ever seen.

"No…" he muttered. "It doesn't. Explain, girl."

"This," Riia gestured out at the unfamiliar world. "Is America." Gaara tried to get his mouth around the word.

"America…"

"Also known as the USA. This is New Jersey that you're in. Be glad that you didn't land in New York."

"New… York? Why?"

"Because. I don't want to get into it right now."

"Why?" he demanded.

"I can't explain right now..." This was getting rather annoying. Gaara had lowered his knife, but Riia was careful. She knew what Gaara was capable of.

"I ask again: why?"

"Please, Gaara-san, no more questions."

"Why?" She should have seen that coming.

"It's tedious. I'll explain everything if you'll come to my house. You're also lucky you dropped in on the last day of school. Come on." She motioned for Gaara to follow her, and, surprisingly, he did. She continued the walk home, feeling quite awkward with Gaara behind her. Occasionally, she looked back, to see Gaara staring at everything, with a look of disbelief on his face. They turned another corner, and Riia's house came into view.

"There it is, Gaara-san."

"What?"

"My house." She pointed to a fairly large beige building. Gaara nodded. Riia tentatively opened the door. "Mom? I'm home!"

"Hi! How was the last day of school?"

"Um… fun." She hesitated. "I brought… um… a friend."

"Really? Who?" Her mom was in the kitchen, and they were yelling at each other. Gaara stood looking at Riia with a blank expression, but Riia knew it was close to threatening. Riia bit her lip. "Honey?"

"Gaara, Mom."

"Gaara?" Her mom peeked around the corner, and was startled to see a dangerous looking redhead standing behind her daughter. "Wait! He's from your anime, isn't he? How is that possible?"

"I don't know myself, mom."

She screwed up her face in confusion, and went back to the kitchen. Riia put her backpack by the door.

"Gaara-san, stay here." She took off her coat, and went to put it away. "Mom?" she whispered.

"Yes?"

"Gaara's going to be staying with us for a while. Is that okay?"

"Does he have to?"

"There's no where else. And I'm not letting you put him out in the streets."

"But, where would he sleep?"

"Gaara doesn't sleep, Mom." Her mom put on a confused expression. "I'm not going to get into why, but he just can't sleep. He is physically unable to."

"He looks… imposing."

"He is, Mom."

"Riia, he looks like he could hurt someone. I don't want him in my house."

"It's okay, Mom! I promise he won't hurt anyone. Please?" Her mom nodded hesitantly, and it was final. Gaara would stay at her house. Riia hugged her mom, and went back to Gaara. "Gaara-san, you wouldn't mind staying here, would you?" The sand nin looked around.

"Fine with me," he muttered. Riia leaned in close.

"I've got a few rules, though. I know you won't like them, and please don't get mad. Number one, and most important: Please don't kill ANYONE while you're here. Not even if they annoy you. That would get you arrested, and I don't want to have to bail you out of jail. Number two: no using your sand powers in the house, unless it's very, very minor. Three: Do not attack the cat. Or my brothers or my parents. Please, Gaara-san." Gaara nodded. She was right, he did not like them. He felt like crushing the girl in front of him. But, he had to follow them, it seemed. "Yay!" She grabbed his wrist, and dragged him up the stairs to her room. She closed the door behind them.

"Riia-san, what's this for?"

"I said I was going to explain everything, right?" Gaara nodded. "And now I will." She took out a spiral sketchbook, with a green cover and the word Sketch on it in large white letters. Riia flipped through a few pages, and then stopped. She folded over the book, and handed it to Gaara.

It was a pencil drawing of the sand nin; sand swirling around him and a stick of pocky in his mouth. Gaara's mouth fell open.


	2. Chapter 2: Hot Topic

A/N: I'll add more chapters as I get reviews... -sigh- If any. Or maybe I'll just add chapters.  


OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter two: Hot Topic

"Did you…?" Riia nodded. "But… how? You got everything right!" Riia took the book back.

"Because here, you're a TV character."

"What?" She took him downstairs to a large TV. Gaara stared at it. "What is it?"

"A television. Or TV."

"Like the surveillance cameras back at Sunagakure…"

"Yes, only these play for entertainment, rather than information gathering." She reached forward, and pressed the power button. Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy appeared. "See? These are cartoons. Animated pictures created for amusement."

"And you're saying that I'm one of these?" He pointed to himself.

"Yes." The commercials came on. "Watch." It was the advert for the Summer Vacation Naruto Special. Gaara's eyes widened and his mouth hung open as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were displayed on the screen. A clip of him flashed by.

"Just once, Gaara! Listen to what your big brother tells you!"

"I've never thought of you as my siblings." Riia turned it off.

"But… how did they know? I said exactly that, and so did Kankuro! Even my voice sounds the same! And there were no cameras following me around, and even if there were, I wouldn't have an outline!" Gaara was panicking. Riia put the tip of her finger on his nose, with blatant disregard for his temper.

"Shush. It's okay. But because here, you are a TV character, and therefore should not be real, and because you have hordes of fangirls, we need to get you some new clothes. And hide at least your tattoo." She pointed to the Ai. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Can we go to Hot Topic? I need to get Gaara some clothes!"

"Doesn't he have clothes?"

"Mo-om! People will recognize him like this, and we'll be interrogated! Or something!"

"Oh, alright."

"Yay!" Riia leapt behind Gaara, and turned over the collar of his shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for a size tag." Finding none, she flipped it back into place. "We'll have to take you to Hot Topic and eyeball it. But… you need clothes so you won't be noticed. "I'd offer mine, but…" She grinned awkwardly. "They're girl's clothes."

"Maybe you could just put him in a large coat, minus the… thing on his back," offered her mom.

"There's an idea!"

"You're not touching my gourd."

"But Gaara-san! If you go out with that on your back…"

"I'm not taking it off."

"Oh, fine. But you're going to have to take it off to put on the coat, and then you can have it back. Mom, could you get a coat?"

"Sure." She ducked out of sight, and rummaged around in the closet a bit. She came back with a long black wool jacket. "Is this okay?" Riia took it.

"Yeah, thanks." Gaara slipped off his gourd, and took the jacket. He handed the gourd to Riia.

"Don't drop it." She nodded. Gaara looked at himself in the jacket, almost disgusted.

"That's perfect," said Riia. "I don't think I'd recognize you. Here you go." She handed him his gourd, and he put it back on. "Now we need to cover your tattoo." She poked it. "Come on." Riia lead Gaara into the bathroom, and took out her mom's make up. She chose the skin-toned one. Opening it, she rubbed a little on Gaara's forehead. Not enough. More rubbing. Darn tattoo was too dark. She tried again, and Gaara was getting more than a little irritated. "Well, I can still see it, but it's not as noticeable." She smiled sheepishly and put the makeup back. "Don't rub it off in public. Mom, we're ready!"

"Okay!" She stepped outside the bathroom.

"Come on, Gaara-san." The sand Nin followed her outside to the car. He looked at it questioningly when Riia and her mom got in. "It's a car, Gaara. Won't hurt you. Get in." Riia patted the seat beside her, and Gaara cautiously climbed on. Riia shut the door, and buckled herself in. "Gaara-san, you should put your seatbelt on."

"Why? It'll restrict me," he retorted, seeing how it went across Riia.

"Alright. You're probably not going to get hurt anyway." Riia's mom backed out of the driveway, and turned the corner.

"How do these things work?" asked Gaara.

"To tell the truth, I really don't know." Another sheepish smile. "But they get us to where we want to go, faster than running or walking."

"Oh." Gaara was silent for the rest of the car ride. The mall came into view, and Riia's mom turned into the parking lot.

"Gaara-san, we're here." He looked up.

"It's big."

"Yeah, most malls are." Being with a supposed TV character was awkward. "Come on." Riia leapt out of the car, and grabbed Gaara's wrist, dragging him out of the vehicle. "Same as at home, no using sand powers here." She walked to the entrance, Gaara trailing behind.

Riia pulled open the heavy door, and motioned for Gaara to enter. He complied, and, after letting her mom in as well, closed the door behind her. "Hot Topic is…" Riia spun around. "This way!" She walked to an escalator, grinning, and rode it down, Gaara and her mother behind. Soon Hot Topic's bright red letters were visible. "Woo!" Riia quickened her pace, and Gaara decided to match her.

"You're not going to force me to wear anything, right?"

"Never! We're just getting you some less conspicuous clothes!"

"Riia?" Riia turned.

"Gretchen!" It was her friend from school, who liked Invader Zim just as much, and though she did not understand Naruto well, was a fan.

"Who's that boy?" She pointed to Gaara. Riia leaned in.

"Gretchen, it's Gaara." Gretchen's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped.

"You mean… Gaara Gaara?"

"Yes. From Naruto."

"But… How is that-?" Riia silenced her.

"Don't ask. He's here, anyway, and we're getting him some clothes."

"I'm gonna help!" Exclaimed Gretchen, the confusion and shock vanishing. "Hold on, Imma ask my mom." She ran off to her mother, and the glee on her face when she came back signaled an affirmative. "Yeah!" Riia and Gretchen entered Hot Topic, ignoring the confusion on the clerks' faces when Gaara walked in. Riia picked up a few Green Day shirts, and one reading: "I used to have super powers, but my therapist took them away." A couple generic black t-shirts, and a black pair of cargo pants. She thrust them into Gaara's arms, ignoring the look of utter confusion. "Try these on!" Then, to Gretchen, "You found anything?"

"Just wristbands. I couldn't find any pants."

"What about shirts?"

"You got him enough."

"Oh, yeah." Riia grinned, and shoved Gaara into the dressing… stall thing in the back of the store.

"What the heck am I supposed to do in here?"

"Take off your shirt!"

"WHAT?" Riia giggled.

"And put on the ones I gave you!" Pause. "One at a time, Gaara!" A rustling of clothes.

"Oh." Riia's giggles evolved into full-blown laughter.

"What happened?" asked Gretchen.

"Gaara was putting on all the shirts at once!"

"Heh." The stall door opened, and Gaara stepped out, wearing an American Idiot Green Day shirt.

"Um… Well?" He had left his gourd in the stall.

"I like it on you! Put on another one and give this one to me." Gaara closed the door, and the American Idiot shirt appeared over the stall door. Riia snatched it up, and waited. Pretty soon Gaara was done, and Riia had approved all the shirts. "Now, Gaara-san. Do you like these shirts?"

"I have no idea what they mean, but if they'll stop me getting mobbed, then I don't care."

"Yay!" Riia walked over to her mom, who did a double take when seeing all the clothes piled in Riia's arms.

"Am I paying for all those?" It was more a rhetorical question than anything. Riia grinned.

"Please? You know what'll happen if Gaara gets noticed!"

"Oh, all right." Riia's mother took the clothes, and placed them on the counter. Gretchen, Riia, and Gaara stepped outside to wait. Gretchen broke the silence.

"I'm getting Gaara some jeans."

"Where?"

"American Eagle!" Riia smiled. Okay with her. "Riia, do you know how Gaara got here?"

"He just fell out of a tree, really."

"Huh." Riia's mom came out.

"Are we done, honey?"

"No. We need to get Gaara some more pants." Riia's mother groaned, but followed them to American eagle. Gretchen dragged the redhead inside, a broad grin on her face. Gaara, however unwillingly, allowed himself to be pulled inside, where Gretchen picked out four pairs of jeans and a pair of cargo pants. "Gretchen, you think that's enough?" Gretchen looked over their load.

"I guess so."

"Mom? We're done. I'll take the Hot Topic bag." Her mother handed it over. "Gretchen, do you wanna come over today?"

"I'll have to ask my mom."

"You know where she is?"

"Yeah. I'll go check." Gretchen hurried off, out of sight. Gaara stared after her.

"Who was that?"

"A friend of mine from school, Gretchen."

"Does she know?"

"Yes."

"Is she gonna tell?"

"No." Silence. Gretchen returned, a broad smile on her face.

"I'm going home with you!"


	3. Chapter 3: From a different perspective

A/N: Thank you very much, every one, for the reviews! Extra thanks for Kikofreako and Perilouslips! I didn't think my story was that good... Heh.  


  
OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Three: From a different perspective

"Get in!" Both obeyed, and Gaara refused to buckle in again. He was between the two.

"Are you sure it's okay for him to not be buckled in?"

"He's got his automatic sand shield, Gretchen. He should be fine." Riia gave a reassuring smile, but even she wasn't too sure. The car ride to Riia's house was fairly quiet, and they got there in awkward silence. They pulled into the driveway, and Riia leapt out of the car. She pulled Gaara out after her.

"Stop doing that!" Frightened, she released his wrist. Gaara froze. He hadn't meant to scare her. It was just annoying how she kept grabbing him. He reached out to console her. "Um… You okay?" She flushed.

"Yeah… You just scared me, is all. I know how easily you get annoyed… I didn't want you to hurt me."

"I wouldn't…" he muttered, and, flushing as well, turned to go into the house. Gretchen appeared beside Riia.

"Did you see him blush? Oooh, Riia!"

"Stop it, Gretchen!" She grinned, and swatted playfully at her friend. They entered the house. Riia glanced at the clock on the microwave, and stiffened. "Oh! It's almost time for Naruto!" She rushed to the TV, and switched it on. Naruto's theme song played. "Just in time!" Gaara followed her tentatively, not sure if she was still upset. He took a seat on the couch next to her, and watched intently. Gretchen sat down on the couch adjacent to theirs.

"Where are they so far?"

"This episode should be Gaara's fight scene."

"My fight? Where?"

"In the Forest of Death, against the Rain ninja Shigure."

"Oh, him." Gaara chuckled to himself. "That was fun." They were silent then, focusing on the TV. The commercials came on, and Gaara was having fun, seeing his fight from a different perspective. "I knew there were konoha ninja there. I wish Temari and Kankuro'd let me kill them."

"Oh, Gaara-san." Riia smiled at him, and the sand ninja stared at his feet, a slight smile on his face. He was red again. _What… is this? _"Gaara-san?" He looked up. "What's it like, finding out you're supposed to be imaginary?"

"Um… Jarring."

"I wonder what would happen if I came to your world…" She curled up beside Gaara, head on his shoulder. She closed one eye contentedly, and the redhead's face turned completely red. Gretchen rolled her eyes, and smiled.

Gretchen's mother called about halfway through the special. Riia opened her other eye to watch. "Ask if you can sleep over!" Gretchen did. There was silence, and a small "okay." "So?"

"I can stay over, but my mom needs to bring my stuff, kay?"

"Yeah!" Riia raised a fist triumphantly, almost hitting Gaara in the side of his head. He pushed her arm back down.

"Riia-san. You nearly hit me."

"Sorry." There was that timid voice again, and Gaara felt a pang of guilt. It was silent for the rest of the special, minus Gretchen's mom arriving with all her stuff.

"So," started Gretchen. "Where are we gonna sleep?"

"We could sleep on the couches here."

"But then where would Gaara sleep? … Oh, for the love of God, Riia!" A small little smile had appeared on her face, and she looked away. Then she returned to being serious.

"We can't sleep in the basement. It's too cold."

"But there's more room down there."

"Know what? I wanna keep watching Naruto, so we'll do that, and then whenever we feel like it, we can go downstairs to sleep."

"We need to set up the sleeping bags, tho."

"Right." Riia got up off the couch. "C'mon, Gaara." He followed the two to the basement, where they picked up three sleeping bags, and unrolled them. Riia arranged them slightly in the shape of the Pi symbol. She straightened, hands on her hips. "There." She smiled, and walked back upstairs, friend and sunanin following. The three sat down in the same spots, and continued watching.

At some point, they fell asleep like that, after the special had ended, to the great relief of Riia. Gretchen woke up first. Apparently they had fallen asleep after Riia's mother, for the trio had not been moved. Gretchen glanced over to Riia, and stiffened.

Riia had fallen asleep on Gaara's lap, and Gaara had apparently not made any attempt to remove her, for his hand was rested consolingly on her head. He looked up at her, and nodded a greeting. A small smile appeared on her face, and she got up. Gretchen plodded into the kitchen for a glass of water, and glanced at the microwave clock. 6:43 in the morning. Not too early, but not too late. Early enough that Gretchen was the only one awake.

"Gaara, give 'em back!" Riia had woken up, and Gaara had decided to take her glasses, for whatever reason. He had them balancing on the tip of his finger, and held Riia back with his other hand. He was smiling, though it was more innocently mischievous. "Come on! I need those to see!"

"Fine, okay." He set them down on the coffee table, and stood up. Riia's head fell onto the couch, still having been on Gaara's leg, and she snatched up her glasses, and put them on. Riia's face was full of mock anger. "Don't do that, Gaara! Please?"

"Kay." He rolled his eyes. "I'm hungry." Riia's face brightened.

"Hold on!" She rushed to the fridge. "You only eat meat, right?"

"Yes." Riia rummaged around in the fridge.

"Unfortunately, I can't cook meat without my mom… How bout some waffles?"

"Waffles?"

"You don't know what waffles are?" Exclaimed Gretchen.

"I'll make you one, see if you like it." Gaara stood next to Riia as she got out the waffle iron and some pre-made batter. She spooned it out onto the iron, and closed it. Then she turned to Gaara. "Now we wait. Gretchen, should I make some for you?"

"Sure!" The waffles were done in several minutes, and Riia put two plates onto the table, with two waffles each.

"You're not having any?" asked Gaara.

"Not hungry," Riia said. Gaara hesitated, and then stuck a fork into the waffle. He tore off a piece, and stuck it in his mouth. Gaara's face turned to a startled expression. "You like it?"

Gaara didn't need to answer, he was busy wolfing down the waffles. Riia paused his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Not so fast. You could get sick." She smiled, forgetting Gretchen was right there. Gretchen had frozen. The bit of waffle fell off her fork, and Gaara glared at her.

"What?" Gretchen seemed to be at a loss for words.

"RIIA MADE LOVEY EYES AT GAARA!" She fell off her chair, exploding with laughter. Both Gaara and Riia blushed furiously.

"Stop that!" Riia clawed the air in front of her friend, playfully. What happened next was completely unintentional. The sand in Gaara's gourd burst into the open, and mimicked Riia's actions. The house became deathly silent.

Riia spoke first. "I CONTROLLED GAARA'S SAND! AAAH!" She collapsed onto the floor, spasms wracking her body. Gaara picked up the uncontrollably shaking girl, and glared at her.

"Stop. That. Right. Now." Riia obeyed, and went limp in Gaara's arms. Gaara set her down. "Explain to me what happened right there."

"I… I can't! I just made clawy motions in the air and it followed me!" She put on a pained expression. Gaara looked around for something crushable. He found a pen.

"Wrap the sand around it."

"Eh…" Riia pointed at the pen. Nothing happened. She felt like an idiot. Gaara opened his gourd and dumped some sand beside the pen.

"Now try." She made a claw hand at the pen, like Gaara had in his fight with the Rain ninja. The sand jerked, and Riia strained to remember what else Gaara had done to make the sand cover the rain Nin.

'Oh!" She made a fist with her other hand, then put two fingers up, and focused on the sand. Slowly, it twisted around the pen, and eventually enveloped it.

"Now see if you can use sabakusôsô." Riia clenched her fist, and the sand tightened, but nothing happened otherwise. "Release it," said Gaara, deep in thought. Riia relaxed, and the sand fell off of the pen.

Gretchen went up to Riia.

"What just happened there?"

"I controlled Gaara's sand!"

"Riia, you could be a ninja!" Gretchen placed emphasis on ninja, reminding Riia of all the times she'd mimicked a ninja's actions in a very comical way, usually rushing forward, arm outstretched, saying 'Imma Ninja! Whoosh!' Riia didn't catch it.

"I really could!" She clasped her hands together, and smiled broadly. Gaara was off in the corner, still thinking. Riia ran up to him. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"About you using my sand." Then Riia heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Put your sand away!" she hissed. "It's my mom!" Gaara did, just before Riia's mom appeared.

"You three want any breakfast?"

"We already had some, Mom."

"Okay." She smiled, and went about fixing herself some English muffins.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Riia?"

"Can I have Sam, Amy, and Cathryn over too?"

"I don't see why not."

"Yay!" Riia picked up the phone, and dialed Cathryn first.


	4. Chapter 4: All Together

A/N: This one's kinda short, I guess. -shrug- Enjoy. -

OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Four: All together

Soon all three girls were there. They were anxious to see why they'd been called so early. Amy was still in her pajamas. She yawned.

"Riia, why are we all here?" They hadn't seen Gaara yet. She smiled at them all.

"Because you're going to see something amazing, astounding, and possibly quite frightening." Cathryn spoke up.

"You're not going to show us something gross, are you Riia?" She'd known Riia since they were both toddlers, and Riia pulled stuff like this once in a while. The other girl smiled.

"No, Cathryn." Cathryn looked away. Riia looked creepy when she smiled like that.

"Gretchen, what are we seeing?"

"Riia told me not to tell, Amy. Sorry." Suddenly the toilet flushed, and the knob turned. "Ah!"

"Ah what, Riia?" Riia didn't answer. Gaara rounded the corner into the kitchen.

"Riia-san? Could I have some more waffl-" He froze, noticing the other girls, all of whom had frozen as well. "Riia-san..." he said slowly. "Who are they?"

"Cathryn, Sam, and Amy. They are friends as well."

"Riia, who's this?" Riia grinned, and rubbed the makeup off of Gaara's forehead, which had miraculously stayed there overnight. Cathryn gasped, but Sam and Amy looked very confused. Amy recognized him first.

"Holy fish paste! Is that...?"

"Gaara, in the flesh!" Now Sam recognized him. None of the girls besides Riia were major Naruto fans, but they'd seen enough of Riia's art to know what Gaara looked like. Cathryn rounded on her friend.

"If you're lying, Riia..." She pointed at the redhead. "Then I shall be very pissed off. Prove that he's Gaara." Riia nodded.

"Gaara-san, if you will." He nodded curtly, and waved his hand. Sand poured out of his gourd, and floated like fog around his hand.

Cathryn and the rest were now convinced that this was Gaara, and not just a very good cosplayer.

"Riia..." Cathryn squeaked. "How'd he get here?"

"Um... He really just fell out of a tree yesterday."

"No way," muttered Sam. Amy seemed to be taking this quite well. Cathryn poked the sand Nin tentatively.

"Is he going to...?"

"Nah. He's not allowed to hurt people here." She looked at Gaara. "Right, Gaara-san?"

"Um... Sure." He really wasn't happy about that. Sam had been thinking.

"Riia, if he can come into our world, then don't you think it's possible for us to get into his?"

"I guess so. I didn't really think about it that much."

"Of course you didn't," muttered Cathryn, knowing about Riia's infatuation with Gaara. Riia poked Cathryn hard in the arm.

"I heard that," she taunted playfully. Cathryn poked back, and Riia returned it. Cathryn pinched her, and Riia winced. "Fine, fine," she said, rubbing the spot.

"So... What're we gonna do now? Is this the only reason you called us over?"

"Um... yes."

"Couldn't you have called us?"

"You wouldn't believe me over the phone."

"Riia, I'm still not sure if I'm still asleep!"

"If you were, my poke wouldn't have hurt." She smiled.

"Fine. But still, what're we gonna do?" Riia rubbed her chin.

"I can think of things, but neither you nor Gaara will be willing to do them."

"Riia!"

"No, no, there's nothing nasty on the list." Cathryn sighed in relief. "Gaara-san, do you remember anything before you got here?"

"Nothing specific."

"Hm. Then we won't know how to get you back." Suddenly, as if on cue, a blinding light cut through the vision of all five of them. Riia grabbed Gaara for support, who pushed her away, and the rest looked very panicked. Soon everything had been replaced by a white light, which turned to black as Riia fell face first onto a very hard, grassy surface.


	5. Chapter 5: No frickin' way

A/N: This chapter is going to be more fangirlish than the others, sorry. ;.; My friends wanted powers.   


OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Five: No Frickin Way.

She woke up leaned against a tree, and groaned. "Gaara-san?" He dropped from above, landing in front of her.

"Yes?" Riia looked around at the grassy surroundings.

"Where are we? And where are Cathryn, Gretchen, Sam, and Amy?"

"They're over there," he said, pointing to them. The girls were sitting in a circle, all of them very afraid and worried.

"So, where are we?" This time Gaara pointed through the trees. Riia's eyes followed his finger, and recoiled in shock as she spotted the symbol of the village hidden in the leaves. "No way…" She blinked. The leaf symbol was still there. "No frickin' way." Riia scrambled over to her friends.

"Riia! You're awake!"

"Yup! Did Gaara tell you where we are yet?"

"No, why?"

"We're in the NARUTO-VERSE!" Everyone went stiff with shock. Sam recovered first, and let off a string of curses.

"Oh my holy fish paste!" Trust Amy to come up with the most ridiculous phrases.

"Hoooly crap…" Gretchen was stunned stiff. Cathryn got up and almost ran into a tree before Riia grabbed her by the collar.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Trying to get back to our world… Eh…" Riia shook her head, and let go. She sat them all down, and joined the circle.

"Since we don't know how we got here, we won't be able to get back. So we're all just going to have to deal with it for now. Before we set foot in Konohagakure, we're all going to have to do a little training." Riia grinned. "Gaara-san, you're going to stay out of this, please, until one of us feels we can take you on." He nodded. "I –" She whipped out the Sunagakure headband she'd bought a few weeks earlier, and tied it on her head. "- Have the good fortune to own a headband. I still have to train, though."

"Train for what?"

"We're not going to pass off as ninja if we don't train. Does anyone not want to be a ninja?" No one spoke up. Riia grinned, and clapped her hands together. "Okay!" Then something stopped her.

"What is it?" asked Gretchen.

"I just thought of something. Look at how you're dressed, compared to how Gaara's dressed. We're going to stand out way too much, ninja or not. Hm." She placed a hand on her chin in thought.

"We could just go into the Leaf Village and buy some clothes."

"Yeah, but we'd still stand out..."

"Oh well!" Sam grabbed Riia and Amy by the collars and started dragging them towards the village gate. Gretchen, Cathryn, and Gaara followed them. When they reached the gate, Gaara persuaded the gatekeeper to let them in, saying they were with him. Once inside the village, despite Riia's protests that she wanted to look around, Sam made a beeline for the first clothing shop she saw.

"You four outsiders?" asked the shopkeeper. Sam nodded assent, and dumped her friends by her feet.

"No wandering off, okay, Riia?"

"But I wanna see Naruto! And Kakashi!"

"No. Didn't you want us to not stand out?"

"Yes..." She stood up, and looked around at the clothes. In the end she picked out what looked like a small black kimono with red edges, though the shopkeeper had assured them it was very flexible, a ninja's typical netted undershirt, which looked a lot like Gaara's, and ninja's sandals. She tied her rather short blond hair up in a bun, and shoved two ornamental chopsticks through it. "Gaara-san, could you...? We don't have any useable money." He nodded curtly, and waited for Riia's friends to pick out their outfits.

Gretchen selected a grayish top that ended just above her midriff and held itself up with a thick strap across her right shoulder. Her pants were white versions of Gaara's pants, though the left leg was tied off just above her knee. Sam had picked out a ragged looking black short-sleeved shirt, and battered black shorts. She also chose a rainbow sash. Cathryn found a long black and purple shirt, and black leggings. And a sword hung from her belt. Amy's outfit was the least ninja-like. She hadn't taken off her Converses, and had chosen a pair of camo pants, and a black shirt with elbow-length sleeves. Riia stared long and hard at her friend.

"Amy."

"What?"

"You really don't look like a ninja."

"So?"

"You need to look like one. Guys!" The others came, and agreed that they should pick out a different outfit for Amy. They came up with a rather generic ninja's outfit. Black shirt whose sleeves turned to netting at the elbows, and pants like Gaara's. They also picked out gloves closely resembling Kakashi's, but let her keep the Converses.

"There," said Sam, content with Amy's outfit. Gaara paid, and they left the store.

"Yeah!" Riia punched the air, and ran off towards the village gates. She skidded to a halt once there, and waited for her friends. They caught up fairly quickly, and made to run off to the forest, but Gretchen grabbed her kimono, dragged her back, and ran ahead, laughing. Riia grinned, and raced after her. Sam, Amy, and Cathryn, hurried to catch up, but Gaara decided to take his time. When he caught up with the girls, they were leaned against a large tree, panting. He rolled his eyes.

"Now then. Sparring." Riia cut him off.

"Not... yet, Gaara. We're... out of breath." Gaara nodded tersely, and waited. "Okay!" Riia bounced off the tree, and looked expectantly at Gaara. He sighed, and started again.

"Sparring. You all know why we're doing this, and if you don't, you're a bigger idiot than Naruto. During sparring, you are to act like you have never seen your opponent in your life. I do not want weak matches because you are friends. I realize this is going to be hard, but work on it. A ninja must be ruthless." He exhaled. "There are five of you, but since Riia is training with me at the moment-"

"Why is SHE training with you?" interrupted Gretchen.

"Because she can – to a lesser extent – control sand. I am teaching her to develop this ability. It also leaves an even number for sparring matches."

"Oh."

"Since Riia is training with me, as I said, that leaves four for sparring. Gretchen, you will spar with Sam, and Amy with Cathryn."

"How do we spar?" Gaara looked at Cathryn with a blank, yet disgusted face.

"How do you spar? You punch, kick, and stab at each other until one is in the position where the other has the opportunity to kill them." Cathryn looked mildly frightened at this. "Speaking of which, here are some wooden shuriken I found. They will do until we get you the real thing." He gave each girl two shuriken, and all but Cathryn immediately stuffed them into their shuriken holsters. Riia poked her friend.

"It goes in there," she said, pointing to the small navy band attached to her thigh. Cathryn put them in, and looked back at Gaara.

"Cathryn and Amy, you will go over there." He pointed to an area a couple of yards away, then pointed Gretchen and Sam to an area the same distance away in the opposite direction. All four walked off tentatively. Gaara watched them, disgusted when they just stood there for a while. He shook his head, and turned to Riia.

"Before you learn how to manipulate sand, you need an understanding of chakra, and how to manipulate it." Riia nodded. "Do you know what chakra is?"

"Um... the energy a ninja needs to perform jutsus and stuff."

"Right. Know where it comes from?"

"Physical energy and spiritual energy gotten from training."

"Good. Hand seals convert chakra into different jutsu, depending on what seals are used."

"Like, when you use the rooster for Sabakukyû?"

"I guess so. Now we work on actually focusing your chakra." He put his hands together, in the Rat seal. "Do what I do." Riia nodded, and mimicked Gaara's hands. He deftly changed Rat to Ox, and Riia did the same. Tiger, Monkey, Boar, then Gaara stopped.

"What?"

"You need sand before we can do anything."

"Can't I use yours?"

"No."

"Why?" Silence. "Okay, so where would we get it without abandoning everybody for Sunagakure?" More silence. Only this time, it was thoughtful silence.

"I… don't… know." Riia's eyes lit up.

"Isn't there a sandbox in Konoha?"

"I guess there would be."

"You go look for it then!"

"Why just me?"

"Cause I wanna see what everyone else is doing." Gaara sighed, and stalked off to the village. Riia played with the hand seals for a while, and then went over to Gretchen and Sam. "Whatcha doin'?" They looked at her for a bit.

"Trying to figure out how to start," admitted Gretchen. Riia grinned, and caught Gretchen across the face with a swift punch. Sam gaped at her for a while.

"That's how you start!" And scampered away when Gretchen recovered from both the shock and pain.

"What the hell was that for, Riia?" She started to chase after her friend before Riia stopped suddenly, and turned around.

"That was to help you start your sparring match. With SAM. Not me."

"But you-"

"I know what I did! Now spar with Sam!" Riia ran, grinning, to Cathryn and Amy. Amy rounded on her almost immediately, though playfully.

"I saw what you did to Gretchen," she teased. Riia mimicked her own previous actions, then skipped away behind a tree.

"Pretend Cathryn hit you!"

"Riia!"

"Eep!" She whirled around, and saw… no one. She put on a confused face.

"Up here, baka." Riia looked, and saw Gaara standing upside down on a tree branch. He looked rather mad.

"Don't call me baka!" Gaara dropped from the tree, and landed on his feet in front of her, a sand-filled bag in his hand.

"Why?"

"Because… Because I'm older than you?" Gaara shook his head, and grabbed her by the ear. She winced as he dragged her back to their spot.

"As long as I'm stronger than you, age has no bearing on it." Riia sighed, and slumped against a tree. She poked the bag as Gaara set it in front of her.

"That my sand?"

"Yes. Straight from the Konoha sandbox. Be lucky no one saw me," he snarled. "Now you need to soak it in your-"

"Blood?"

"No, chakra. Blood comes after you've killed someone."

"Oh. How do I do that?"

"What, kill someone?"

"No, enhance the sand with my chakra."

"Just make the hand seal you're most comfortable with, and focus on the sand." Riia nodded, and opened the navy bag. Gaara went off to the others, and Riia laughed to herself when she heard him nearly yelling at them for not sparring properly. She put her hands in the tiger seal, closed her eyes, and filled her mind with sand. Had her eyes been open, she would have seen the sand glowing faintly. Riia continued for quite a while, until a question popped into her mind. _How long do I have to do this for?_ She wasn't sure, so she decided not to stop unless Gaara told her to. Fortunately, he came around fairly quickly, and poked her in the head.

"You can stop now." Riia opened her eyes, and was shocked to find the sand now a rather pale reddish-tan color.

"Is it done?"

"From the discoloring of the sand, I'd say yes." Riia punched the air.

"Yeah!"

"Now then…" Gaara uncorked his gourd, and Riia tensed. "Relax. I'm going to show you how to use Suna no Tate. Might be a little tough, seeing as how this is done regardless of my will, but unless you want a demon forced inside you…" Riia grimaced.

"I'd rather be taught." Gaara nodded.

"Draw the sand within the sphere of your chakra. It should be about this wide." He demonstrated, bringing a circle of sand around six feet in diameter around him.

"Do I need a hand seal?"

"If it makes you comfortable. You should try to learn this without one, though." Riia nodded, and decided to simply focus on bringing the sand just within the limits of her chakra. Slowly, the sand spilled out of the bag, and circled her feet, slightly smaller than Gaara's. He looked mildly surprised.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing..." he trailed off.

"Come on."

"Never mind. Moving on." He drew the sand upward around himself, obscuring most of his body. "The harder part of this will be making the sand hard. When you start out, likely you will be able to bring the sand up, but you're going to have to work on making it harder than steel." Riia nodded, and brought the sand up. It obeyed less objectively than she thought it would. Suddenly Gaara brought a fist down on the wall. It held for a second, and then gave in. "See? Need to work on that." The rest of Riia's day consisted of almost, but not quite, getting Suna no Tate correctly.

At the end of the day, she could bring up a wall of sand almost immediately in response to an attack from any direction, though the wall was not much stronger than semi-hard wood. Gaara glanced at the sky, and noticed that the stars were visible already. He clapped his hands. "All done. Come on, let's go get your friends."

Riia nodded, and put the sand back in her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. They went to Gretchen and Sam first.

Gretchen was staring at shock at her fist, which seemed to have acquired several large, white… claw things. "Gretchen…" Riia started, "What are those?"

"Honestly, I think they're my bones. I went to punch Sam… and they just slid out of my skin! Eh!" Riia's eyes widened.

"Gretchen… that's the kekkei genkei of the Kaguya clan!"

"Eh wat?"

"THEY CAN MANIPULATE THEIR BONES! And they're supposed to have just one living member left, Kimimaro. You could, like, use your leg bone as a spear, or something! And grow a new one back to replace it!" Gretchen grinned at her knuckles.

"So cool…"

"Sam, you discover anything?"

"Um… I'm really fast. Does that count?" Riia thought for a moment.

"Attack Gaara." Sam hesitated, before launching a fist at his face. The Suna no Tate came up… but not soon enough. Sam's punch connected with Gaara's nose, and while it was not enough to do anything but bruise him…

"Sam's an Uchiha!"

"What?"

"You're fast enough to evade Gaara's Suna no Tate! Sasuke can do that, and so can you! And Sasuke and Itachi are supposed to be the only living members! Whoo!"

"Does that mean anything other than that I'm fast?"

"You've got the Sharingan. You have to activate it, though. C'mon." Riia lead the others to Amy and Cathryn. Amy had her arm outstretched, and was chasing Cathryn in circles, a grin on her face. Riia stopped Cathryn. "What happened?"

"Amy's hand is evil! She tripped, and went to grab my shoulder for support, and it started glowing and all of a sudden I felt really tired!" Amy caught up with them, and stopped in front of Riia.

"It's true! But I didn't do it on purpose."

"Amy, lemme see your hand." Riia poked it, and started glowing again. When Riia began to feel drained, she pulled her finger away. "Amy, how do you feel?"

"Refreshed, kinda."

"Amy has Yoroi's talent!" Gaara stared at her.

"You mean that chakra-sucking ninja from the first round of the preliminaries?"

"Yup." Amy put a grin on her face, and looked at her hand.

"Cool!"

"Cathryn, did you find anything?"

"No."

"Okay, then. All back to Konoha to find us somewhere to sleep! I'm staying with Gaara, and, let's see... Sam, you can stay with Amy, and Gretchen with Cathryn-"

"Nope! I want my own place!" Gretchen exclaimed.

"Okay, then Gretchen and Cathryn have their own little apartmenty thingies." They all walked back to the gate, got in, and Gaara led them to where he stayed.

"So, you're all getting apartments by here?"

"Yup!" The girls split up, and chose their dwellings.

"I suppose I'm paying?"

"You have to. We don't have any useable money." Riia grinned at him, and Gaara turned away, shaking his head. Riia followed him, a smile on her face. Gaara turned, and opened his door, glancing at Riia warily. She tilted her head in question, and he turned back to his room, entering it. Riia slipped in as well.

Gaara exhaled.

"That's right, I forgot. You're staying with me. Why?"

"Because... I love you?" Gaara stared at her for a bit. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine. You'll sleep on my bed. You know I don't sleep, right?"

"Gaara-sama, I know more about you than YOU do." She smiled.

"Okay..." He rolled his eyes again, and set a tatami mat on the floor.

"You're just going to sit on that all night?"

"Maybe not." Riia saw no point in asking what he was gonna do.

"Do I get any pajamas?" The stare she got said no. Riia sighed, and brushed herself off, before flopping down on Gaara's bed. She stared up at the ceiling, arms crossed behind her head. "Gaara-sama?"

"Hai?"

"What do you think of me? Honestly?" The question surprised him, and he was at a loss for words.

"I... think you're a very interesting individual." Riia smiled, and pulled the sheets over herself, turning away from Gaara, and falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6: A Purpose and a Rejection

OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Six: A purpose and a rejection

Riia awoke the next morning fairly early. She lay in bed a while, warm and safe. She was just about to go back to sleep when Gretchen bounded in, and poked her twice in the head. "Wake up, Riia!" Riia swatted her hand away, and slowly sat up.

"What is it?" she muttered. Gretchen grinned, and pulled an enormous gourd from behind her, almost as big as Gaara's. Riia's eyes widened. "For me?"

"Yup. We figured you couldn't go around lugging that bag everywhere. Gaara paid for it of course, but Sam, Amy, Cathryn and I picked it out."

"Thanks!" Riia took the gourd from her, and ran her fingers over it. There was even a sash so she could wear it. She got up, and walked over to the desolate-looking navy bag in the corner. Riia took it over to the gourd, and opened it.

Gaara walked in just as she was going to pour the sand in. He shook his head, and stopped her.

"Not with your hands. You need to practice manipulating the sand, this is a good time." Riia nodded, and set the bag back on the bed. She focused on it, pulling it into the gourd. The sand slid out of the bag like a snake, and up into the gourd.

"Cool..." Gretchen remarked. Soon the bag was empty, the gourd, full. Riia put it on, and grinned.

"Hah! I'm juss like Gaara now!" She put on a mock serious face, and mock glared at her friends.

Gaara shook his head. When Riia finished, she grabbed Gretchen's wrist.

"Gaara-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I'm gonna look around at the village some."

"Okay." Riia smiled, and walked out the door, a protesting friend in tow. Gaara watched the door, even after they had gone. He furrowed his brow. Riia... wasn't like the others. She didn't shun him. She didn't show the slightest sign of hating him. And neither did her friends, though they seemed more careful around him than she was. He felt comfortable around her. Gaara started. Suddenly... he had a purpose in life other than to simply protect his own existence. There was someone who actually cared if he died, who wanted him to live. He sighed, and vanished.

Riia's first destination had been the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. Mostly to see if Naruto was there, but also for breakfast.

"Ramen for breakfast?" asked Gretchen.

"Why not?"

"I dunno... It's just a weird thing to have."

"I bet Naruto does it."

"He's a ramen freak."

"... So?" Gretchen rolled her eyes, but said nothing more. Riia pulled up a seat for herself and her friend. A look of realization spread across her face. "Oh!"

"What is it?"

"We need money."

"That's okay! I found some on the dresser last night."

"Okay! You think it's gonna be enough?"

"Probably."

"Alright then! Shrimp ramen for me!"

"I'll take chicken." The man behind the counter nodded, and turned away to fill their orders. Suddenly Naruto bounded up and into the seat next to Riia. She flinched.

"Naruto-san?"

"Hm? Who're you? And how'd you know my name if you're from Suna?"

"I know a lot about you. And why are you here?"

"For breakfast. What's your name?"

"Riia. I thought you had lots of ramen at home." Naruto looked mildly frightened by now.

"I... ran out."

"Oh." Naruto turned away, to the shopkeeper, who'd already brought Riia and Gretchen's orders.

"I'll take oriental, please!" He waved his arm vigorously, grinning. Riia shook her head, and turned to her own ramen.

Gaara watched from the rooftop. It was true what he'd said last night; she was a very interesting person. Riia was a puzzle. She wasn't like the others. He sighed, and looked on as Riia and her friend finished their ramen, and paid.

"Where we gonna go next?" Gretchen asked.

"Hm... I wanna go see Naruto train." Naruto's ears perked, and he turned around.

"You?" The girls nodded. "Imma have to ask pervert-sennin first. But... um... I really need to know who you are." Riia spoke first.

"I'm Riia. Genin from Sand, here with Gaara, sand powers similar to his." She patted the gourd on her back, and Naruto started. Was Gaara going soft?

"I'm Gretchen, of the Kaguya clan. Here with Riia."

Naruto tilted his head. The Kaguya clan? Who the heck were they? "Yes, the Kaguya clan. Shame on you if you haven't heard of them." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"So, you know who we are, go ask 'Pervert-sennin'!"

"Right, okay. Follow me, I guess." Naruto led them to the bridge where he would meet Jiraya. "Yo! Pervert-sennin! These two girls wanna watch me train! Can they?"

Jiraya appeared in front of them, head tilted. He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. They have to keep their distance, though."

Gaara had followed them to the bridge, careful to keep his distance. Looking at Riia, she appeared to be poking her forehead above her left eye, and conversing with Gretchen.

"Gretchen, should I get a "Love" tattoo right here?"

"Would your parents let you?"

"I suppose not. But how do you know we're gonna get back?"

"Gaara got back, didn't he?" Riia was silent, contemplating this. Finally, she nodded, but said nothing. Suddenly Riia's eyes widened. She grabbed Gretchen's shoulders.

"What is it, Riia?"

"I just realized when we are!"

"Just now?"

"Yeah! In the month break before the third exams! That means we can't do anything to alter the timeline! Nothing! Don't touch, don't interrupt, don't try to change someone's mind..." She let go of Gretchen, and both of them shook with the immensity of it all. "Wow..."

Gaara was still watching. Riia had seemed to come to some sort of a realization, a discovery. He leaned closer. Too bad Daisan no Me didn't include hearing as well.

Riia watched as Naruto managed to summon only tadpoles, and, midway through, decided to get up and wander the village. Gretchen and Gaara followed.

"Hm." Riia sighed, and paused near Ichiraku Ramen. "Gretchen, I'm gonna go back to the apartments. You can go do whatever." She waved her friend off, and plodded back to Gaara's room. He stood, just outside, watching. Riia sighed again, long and sad. She slumped, and put her knees up to her chest, rested her arms on them, and buried her face in her arms. _Only this far on... I know more about Gaara than he does... I could mess up the... for lack of a better word... plot. Gaara's still supposed to be cold and unfeeling. What if I mess that up? What if I already have? I should avoid him. But then he'd chase after me, he'd still... feel whatever he feels, if he feels anything. _Gaara had slipped into the room, avoiding Riia's notice. _I could mess up his fight with Naruto! He might win! It's supposed to end in a tie! He's supposed to take a wound from Sasuke, and run off... then fight Naruto, tie, and go off with his siblings! ... I don't know what happens right after that... And then he's supposed to come back and help Rock Lee... but, then it's sort of okay, because his fight with Naruto's changed him... But-_

"Riia-san?" Gaara said softly. The girl jumped, inhaled sharply, and looked up hurriedly.

"Gaara-sama! What are you doing here?" Her voice was panicky, and she faltered. Gaara tilted his head slightly, and his eyes held a slightly worried expression. Riia saw this, and her panic grew. _Ooh, no! He's already getting worried about me! That's not good! Ooh... I have to leave... somehow..._ She stood up hurriedly, and pushed past Gaara, bumping into his sand. Gaara's face changed from worried to confused.

"What are you doing, Riia-san?" Her head was averted; she would not let Gaara see the tears.

"I have to go. Don't follow me." She ran off, gourd on her back bouncing with her footsteps.

"What...?" Gaara's question trailed off, and he exhaled. _Did I do something...?_


	7. Chapter 7: Oh, shit

A/N: First off, I apologize for Gaara's ooc-ness last chapter. But to clear things up, he's not in love, that takes much longer. Think of it this way. You bring a starving anything to food, it's going to eat and eat until it's full. So right now, Gaara's just trying to find out if Riia really meant what she said earlier on, that she loves him. (course, she was partially joking, but only partially...) If any of my fanfics (like this one) involved Gaara falling in love, it would never happen this soon. That's too soon for Gaara. Too easily his hard shell broken. Gomen. -

OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Seven: Gretchen's Plea

Gretchen bounced into Gaara's apartment, gloves similar to Kakashi's in her hand. "Riia! I got you some-"

"She left." Gretchen started, and turned to Gaara, who was sitting on his bed, an odd combination of confused and angry on his face.

"Whaddaya mean, 'She left'?"

"She left. Told me not to follow her." Gaara was silent. Gradually Gretchen's face went from confused to worried to just plain scared. She threw the gloves on the ground and spun on her heel, dashing madly out the door. "Where're you going?"

"To find Kakashi! He's going to help me find Riia!" Gaara only sighed as he watched Gretchen run hurriedly to find Kakashi. Several steps later, she froze, remembering this part from the manga.

"OH, SHIT!" Kakashi was on this several mile-high cliff, and she'd have to climb up there to get to him. Maybe Gaara could take her. _No! Riia's MY friend, and I'm gonna find her by myself! Um... and Kakashi, if he'll listen._

Gretchen pounded her temples with her fists, desperately trying to figure out a way to get to Kakashi. _He'll have to come down some time, for food and stuff! I can get him then! Aw, no, that won't work. Who knows where Riia will have gone by the time he comes down! Ooh... Riia, why the hell'd you have to go running off like that?_ She shot off to the gate, and exited the village. Pretty soon Gretchen had spotted the cliffs, almost on the exact other side of the village. "Oh, come ON!" She exhaled, and started to run. Too bad she hadn't had time to learn how to run like a ninja. But she could try.

Gretchen was out of breath half way there. "Stupid cliffs," she muttered, and stopped to catch her breath. She couldn't think of any way her kekkei genkei would help in getting over to the cliffs. _I better at least think this through, first. Well, threatening him won't do any good, he'll just hand me over to Ibiki, or something. I could ask very nicely... but he's never seen me before, and he's training Sasuke right now! Oh... And all this time, Sound and Sand are plotting the downfall of Konoha!_

She buried her face in her hands. Asking to find Riia seemed like a frivolous thing compared to what was happening now. _But I will do it. Because she's my best friend and I won't let her die or something out there somewhere. I wonder if she knows where she's going._

Gretchen had continued chasing after the cliffs, and finally arrived. "My... god," she breathed. The whole trip had left her out of breath. She stared up at the cliff. "How did... Kakashi climb that... with ONE hand?" Gretchen slumped against the village's wall. _How the hell am I supposed to get up there? Should I wait for him to come down? Should I actually attempt a life-threatening climb up that thing?_ She sighed, and decided to wait for Kakashi.

She watched the cliff constantly, and at one point even thought she saw Gaara float up there. The girl amused herself by remembering what was happening at this point, in the manga. Gaara was going to see Sasuke, and if he did that, it meant Dosu was already dead. Jiraya still hadn't pushed Naruto down the cliff, and Sakura was wondering where Sasuke went, along with Ino. Kakashi... Kakashi was up there, at the very top. Gretchen sighed again.

Soon it was nightfall, and she watched the cliff more intently. Twice she had seen the Chidori flash, and knew Kakashi would come down soon. She'd almost dozed off before Kakashi appeared in front of her, though took no notice of her. She started, and scrambled hurriedly to her feet.

"Kakashi-san!" She almost banged into him, and he looked at her oddly.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"I'm Gretchen, and I don't have time to explain that right now! I need your help!" Kakashi was silent, still not sure whether this was someone he could trust. "My friend, Riia, is running around blindly somewhere out there, and she could get hurt, or die, and I need you to help me find her!"

"Why me?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Because you have... eh, I heard you have terrific tracking skills!" Kakashi sighed, and thought about it.

"Not me, more so than my dogs." He called Pakkun. "Here. This is Pakkun. He'll help you, and lead you back to the Leaf village when you've found your friend. Also, you aren't from here, are you?" Gretchen shook her head. "I didn't think so." He turned, and leapt off into the growing darkness.

"If we're going to find your friend, I need something of hers." Even though Gretchen knew Pakkun spoke, the voice startled her anyway.

"Right, of course." She rummaged around in her pockets and found Riia's Leaf wristband, that she had gotten from Hot Topic a long while ago. She'd abandoned it and given it to Gretchen when she'd gotten the Suna headband. "This okay?" She handed it to Pakkun, who looked startled to see the Leaf symbol on a wristband. He didn't question it, however, and took the item. "So, which way?"

"Hm..." Pakkun turned around. "This way." He leapt off into the trees, and Gretchen chased after him, straining to keep up.

Riia's breath was coming in ragged gasps, and her body was streaked with dirt and blood. Her sand was on the ground, trailing behind her, and she stopped to rest against a tree.

"Stupid... Sound ninja." She'd forgotten Oto and Suna were planning to destroy Konoha. _I wish I'd learned something other than just Suna no Tate!_ She slid down the trunk, coming to a sitting position at the roots. _At least... at least I made it stronger._ Of course, though. She'd only managed to make it stronger in a life or death battle. _Why'd they attack me, though? I had the sand forehead protector._ She felt for it on her head, and gasped. "Oh, shit."

It had disappeared. Probably fallen off in all that commotion. _Well, now I got no way to avoid further conflicts, and I'm running around in the forest, no idea where I'm going... oh, I'm screwed. _She sighed, and slumped where she was. _I wonder if Gaara-sama's following me. Gretchen's probably realized what's happened. I wonder what she's doing._


	8. Chapter 8: Bitter Crimson Tears

A/N: Wow, I'm half dead.

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned it...**

* * *

  


OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Eight: Bitter Crimson Tears

A raindrop bounced off of Gretchen's nose, and she started. _Please don't start raining...!_ "Pakkun-san?"

"Yes?" He was still far ahead of her.

"Can you track people in the rain?"

"Yes, but not as easily." He almost asked why, and then raindrops splattered his back. Pretty soon it was raining, and Gretchen nearly lost Pakkun.

"Stupid... rain," she muttered. _Hey! What if I use my bone as an umbrella? Flatten and widen my leg bone. ... Only problem is, I have no idea how to do it. _

"We're getting closer," called Pakkun. _Oh, thank goodness. _Gretchen quickened her pace, despite being almost out of breath.

---------

Riia groaned when she felt the rain. Lethargically she drew her sand over her head, creating a makeshift umbrella. The tears came again, but slowly. _I wish I'd never tried to befriend Gaara... I should have known something like this would happen. I just can't help it, though. I'm too sympathetic towards him... We should leave without him... if we ever leave. I don't want him going soft until after his fight with Naruto... _She buried her face in her arms, and rested them on her knees, drawn up to her chin. _I hate this._

---------

Pakkun made a sharp turn, and Gretchen followed. "Can you tell how far away she is?" she asked.

"A couple of meters, not that far." Gretchen sighed in relief, and relaxed slightly. _Please be all right, Riia. If you're hurt in any way... You shouldn't have run off like that without at least telling me! I get why you left, but you should have left with all of us! ... Speaking of which, I wonder what Sam, Amy and Cathryn are doing. _She shook her head. _Oh, just be okay, Riia..._

Gretchen almost ran into Pakkun, and scrambled to stop. She turned around and looked at the dog.

"Why'd you stop?"

"She's here, behind that tree." Gretchen's eyes started to tear, and she scrambled around the tree. She gasped.

Riia had passed out, due to blood loss. Her umbrella had collapsed, and there was sand all over the drenched girl. Gretchen started to shake.

"Pakkun-san!"

"Yes?"

"Get Kakashi! Please!" Pakkun saw the damage, and leapt off at once to find the requested Jonin. Gretchen placed Riia in a more comfortable position against the tree, gingerly moving her arm off the wound. She shuddered at the slash in her friend's stomach, and nearly gagged. _Riia, you idiot..._ "Oh!" The sand headband was gone. Gretchen wondered where it'd gone, then remembered a bloodstained area of the forest. Something had flashed at her through the rain as she'd gone by. Good thing it was close. She could see the blood from here.

Gretchen leapt off towards the spot, and scoured it for a while, finally finding Riia's headband lying on the ground, half-buried in dirt and slightly cracked. She unearthed it, and brushed it off. _Well, at least now we know who attacked you. Likely Sound or Sand..._ Gretchen went back to her friend, and gingerly tied the headband around her neck.

Pakkun arrived soon after, Kakashi trailing. He raised his eyebrow.

"Is that the friend you were talking about?"

"Yes! We need to get her to the hospital now, and I can't carry her! Would you please...?" Kakashi surveyed the damage, and sighed. He hoisted Riia up onto his back, and started back to the village. Pakkun followed, and Gretchen decided to grab Riia's gourd and whatever sand was left in it.

They'd passed Cathryn, Sam, and Amy on the way to the hospital, and Gretchen stopped to tell them what happened. Cathryn was the most eager to come along and do whatever she could to help; she'd known Riia since they were in first grade, and she was one of her best friends.

Gretchen led them to the hospital, but only she, of Riia's friends, was allowed in to see her. She rested the gourd against the end table near Riia's hospital bed, and stepped away. The tears came again, and she tried to force them back, to no avail. She couldn't stand it, seeing Riia lying there, almost like she was dead... _No!_ Gretchen shook her head, to rid herself of the image. _Riia's NOT dead! Just... passed out! When she regains consciousness, everything'll be just fine... _Gretchen sat in one of the chairs near Riia's bed, and slumped over, tears dotting the white linoleum under her feet.

A hand placed itself on Gretchen's shoulder, and she looked up. It was Kakashi. He was looking at Riia.

"I know how you feel, and I understand that you wish to stay with your friend, but you have to come with me. Your friends, too." Gretchen started. _Oh, shit! I knew this was gonna happen! Now we're gonna get tortured or interrogated! And probably by Ibiki..._ She nodded her head slowly. "Alright then." Kakashi moved away, and Gretchen followed lethargically. They exited the room, and Cathryn rushed up to Gretchen.

"How is she?" There was panic in the girl's voice.

"She's... gonna be okay." Cathryn sighed in relief, and Amy and Sam's faces relaxed.

"You all have to come with me, now." Cathryn turned to Kakashi.

"Why?" she demanded.

"I'll explain when we get there." He started walking, and the look on Gretchen's face suggested that all of them come. Sam and Amy got up from their seats, and ran to catch up with the rest of the group.

Suddenly, Kakashi turned around to face all of them, and Gretchen was the first to notice that his Sharingan was exposed. She almost asked why, and then everything went black. She could still see Amy, Sam, and Cathryn, but everything else was pitch black.


	9. Chapter 9: Interrogation

A/N: I dunno, Ibiki seems out of character... But then, he's a minor character... but it still counts. -shrug-

OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Nine: Interrogation

The other three girls were shaking.

"Gretchen," Amy asked, "What's going on?" A scowl set itself on the addressed girl's face.

"Genjutsu. I knew this was going to happen." She raised her eyes, and yelled out. "Kakashi-san! What do you want?"

"This isn't Kakashi..." said a gruff, demanding voice. _Damn._ Just what Gretchen had been afraid of.

"Alright then, Ibiki-san! What do YOU want?" The question was pointless; Gretchen already knew.

"I want to know why you know more than you really should. You four dropped in yesterday, and you act like you know everyone personally." Gretchen bit her lip. "Especially you, girl. You and your friend in the hospital there act like you know everything about us. Tell me how." Gretchen slumped where she was, and sat down, sighing. She looked over to the others; they had all followed her example.

"Do you want me to tell him?" she whispered.

"Is he gonna hurt us?" asked Cathryn.

"Only mentally, and only if we don't tell him."

"Then tell him!"

"And they're gonna believe us? What reason have we given them for them to trust us?"

"... It's worth a shot..." Gretchen sighed.

"Make up your mind quick, girl. I'm not in a good mood today," Ibiki hissed.

"Alright, Ibiki-san," she called up. "I'll tell you. And this is the only explanation. If you choose not to believe me, fine. I'm not changing my story. My friends and I... " She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Come from a completely different world, dimension, whatever." A snort from somewhere voiced Ibiki's displeasure at this explanation. "We come from America, and in our dimension... You, all your villages, your entire dimension, are nothing but entertainment for us. It is a TV show. You have surveillance cameras, right? It's kind of like that, but for entertainment rather than security. No other purpose. At all. You, and Kakashi, and many others in this world, have fangirls and boys, or just fans in general. There are fan sites on you, magazines, books, even little action figures and plushies."

We have the Internet; I can't explain it right now, but you can find information on anything and everything on it. You can go online and find out just about everything about you. For example, I know you're twenty-seven, you were the proctor for the first part of the Chunin exam, and your blood type... is A. We were brought here somehow; we have no idea how. A flash of light, that's all we saw before landing in the forest outside your village. Gaara was with us at the time; that's how we got in. And that's the only explanation there is."

The girls heard whispering.

"I don't believe them."

"Ibiki-san, they knew your blood type, for goodness's sake."

"Something in her story doesn't sit right with me."

"It doesn't with me, either. But her tone of voice... and how could anyone tell such a tale while keeping a straight face?"

"..."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, hurt them first." Gretchen groaned, and sat down. There was a collective gasp from the others.

"Gah!" Gretchen, Sam, Amy, and Cathryn had all received a kunai in the arm. Gretchen winced, and as she pulled it out, the darkness disappeared, but Kakashi and Ibiki were no longer there. "Stupid Ibiki..." _Let's see if this works..._ Gretchen focused on the arm bone in her punctured limb, and envisioned it sliding over the wound to stop the bleeding. As it began to move, slowly, Gretchen discovered maintaining the movement was intensely difficult.

She looked at her makeshift cast. _Not too bad. _She smiled, stood up, and went around to see if the other girls were okay. They'd all taken the kunai out already, and were holding their arms to stop the blood flow. "Come on. We're going back to Gaara's apartment; he's probably got some bandages there." Cathryn stood up first.

"Gretchen, who was that?"

"That was Ibiki. Come on." The others stood up, and followed Gretchen.

"Who's Ibiki?"

"He's the head of the ANBU torture and interrogation unit." Cathryn shuddered.

"So then, we're lucky we got off like this?"

"Yeah." The rest of the walk was silent. When they arrived, Cathryn approached Gretchen as she was rummaging through Gaara's stuff.

"What happened to Riia?"

"... She was attacked by enemy ninja. From the village hidden in the Sound."

"Oh. How badly?"

"It looks worse than it is. She should be out of there in a few days."

"Good."

"Aha!" Gretchen held up the bandages, and began to wrap them around Cathryn's arm. Then she moved on to Sam, then Amy. They all sat there for a while, until Gretchen noticed the sky. It was getting darker, and she sighed. "You all should go back to your own apartments. Get some sleep." She got up, and exited Gaara's apartment, heading for her own. The other girls murmured assent, and left for their apartments.

Gretchen couldn't sleep for a long while. She'd pulled the covers tight over her, but the image of Riia in a hospital bed wouldn't let her close her eyes. She thought she heard Gaara enter his apartment, just before she closed her eyes in much-needed sleep.

Gaara sat on his bed, brooding. He still didn't know what to think of Riia. She claimed to love him... _She's probably just saying that... _His expression didn't change. This girl was a mystery. Just looking in their direction was usually enough to frighten most girls. Forget girls, it could scare anyone. Riia was a puzzle. She seemed to enjoy him looking at her, acknowledging her, perhaps. He sighed, and turned his eyes to the full moon, expressionless.


	10. Chapter 10: Riia's Back!

A/N: Sorry, this chapter is a little short. I'm also really sorry it took so long for me to get it to you. I've been busy, and writer's block wasn't helping... ;.;  


OMG it's Gaara! 

Chapter Ten: Riia's Back!

Gretchen awoke, covers tangled around her limbs. She opened one eye sleepily, and slowly unwound herself. The girl slid out of bed, and, still half asleep, walked towards the wall where the hallway leading to her bathroom would have been, had she still been in her dimension. A sharp bruise woke her up completely, and realized she hadn't had a shower since she'd gotten here. The thought of asking Gaara entered, and just as quickly, exited, her mind.

She decided to simply wander until she found a bathroom. By the time this task had been completed, Sam, Amy, and Cathryn had woken up, and were looking for her.

"Gretchen?" Amy called. "Where could we get some food?"

"Hold on," came a muffled voice from two rooms over. Gretchen emerged, dressed, but wet. One eye was closed. "Food? Come on." She beckoned for the others to follow, and they did.

Ichiraku Ramen had just opened. "This is the only place I can give you for food," Gretchen said, motioning at the ramen stand. "Anything else you want and you'll have to find it yourself." She took a seat, and braced herself.

Pretty soon, Naruto came bounding up, and landed neatly in his seat. He glanced at Gretchen, then went about ordering his breakfast. Gretchen stayed silent, slumped on the counter. The shower hadn't woken her up completely, and Riia's situation refused to leave her mind. Naruto tilted his head and watched her, forking ramen into his mouth as he did so. "Run out of ramen again?" Gretchen's voice, so sudden and depressed, surprised him.

"Um... Maybe?" The girl sighed, and said nothing more.

Suddenly a rough hand placed itself on Gretchen's shoulder, and she whirled around. It was Kakashi. Her startled face turned to a disgruntled one, and she turned back to the counter. Kakashi sighed.

"Just came to tell you, Riia's doing better. You can go talk to her, if you want."

"Hmf." Gretchen had no intention of speaking to Kakashi just now. He shrugged, and leapt off, having delivered his message and nothing to do.

"Hey!" Naruto's voice pierced her thoughts, and she looked up sharply.

"What?"

"Riia, that's the girl you were with yesterday, right?"

"Mm-hm." Gretchen nodded.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing," Gretchen snapped, and slid off the stool, heading towards the hospital. Naruto was left quite confused, staring at her.

Gretchen plodded into the hospital. "Can I see Riia? I'm her friend."

"Of course. Dow-" The woman at the front desk cut off. Gretchen had already gone down to Riia's room. She knew where it was. Gretchen opened the door, and cautiously entered. She was surprised to see Riia lying awake on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. She looked over and Gretchen, and her expression brightened. Riia sat up hurriedly.

"Gretchen! Hi!"

"You're sounding pretty cheery for someone who just almost got killed." Gretchen walked to her side, smiling.

"Almost!" she echoed. "Thanks for picking up my headband." She had it in her hands, fingers wound around it lovingly.

"You're welcome. Glad to see you're doing better."

"Yup. I should get out of here pretty soon. They've already cleaned me up and bandaged me, so I'm pretty much good to go." Riia's face turned serious. "How's Gaara?"

"I dunno. He seemed normal... for himself... the last time I saw him. And besides, why'd you go running off like that, you idiot? You had me worried sick and I had to get Kakashi to help and then he got Ibiki and we all got stabbed in the arm..."

"I don't want Gaara to start changing yet! That has to wait until after his fight with Naruto! And I'm sorry about the whole Ibiki thing... I got off worse than you anyway!"

There was silence for a while, and Riia went back to staring at her headband.

"Yeah... I'm gonna go back to the apartments. You get some rest." Gretchen left the room, and Riia sighed, falling back on her bed into reclining position.

Gretchen wandered around Konoha for a while, Riia's predicament still on her mind. Riia was right, Gaara couldn't change until after his fight with Naruto, otherwise that would mess up the whole storyline. But Riia was infatuated with Gaara... Gretchen pursed her lips. Well, Riia would just have to be patient and wait.

The next day, Gretchen woke to be poked sharply on the shoulder. "Mmf. Go 'way." She slowly opened her eyes, then sat straight up when she saw it had been Riia who'd poked her. "Riia? That was fast."

"I know, right?" She was wearing her red kimono and gourd again, and Gretchen wasn't too surprised to see the Sand headband on her head. "There wasn't anything stuck in me, or infected, just a huge cut. So I got to go!"

"When did they let you out?"

"This morning. You overslept, nya." She stuck her tongue out at Gretchen, and walked to the door.

"Hey, Riia." She stopped.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Gaara yet?" There was an awkward silence, and Riia pulled at a loose thread on her outfit.

"No... not really."

"Why?" Riia didn't answer. "Well?"

"... Because I don't want him to change until his fight with Naruto."

"Riia, he's changed already just by meeting you. Avoiding him is gonna make things worse."

"But I thought you didn't want to change the plot either." Riia turned around and looked at Gretchen suspiciously.

"I don't, but... If Gaara's already changed, you can't change him back!" Riia's suspicious look vanished.

"Oh, fine. Can't change the past, hm? I'm not gonna go running after him, though. If he wants to talk to me, he can come find me. ... You wanna go find some other place to have breakfast besides Ichiraku?" Gretchen nodded and slid off her bed, stretching briefly before following Riia out the door.

The pair wandered around Konoha for a while, before finding a suitable place to eat. They sat down and ordered breakfast. The meal was ate in silence, for the most part, and then Riia noticed Gaara walking towards the hospital. She tilted her head and stared. _What's he want at the hospital? ..._ Gretchen noticed Riia's stare and turned to look.

"Why's Gaara going to the hospital?" Gretchen asked. Riia thought for a bit, then her eyes lit up.

"He's going to get Lee, remember? Oh... He's probably not going to be as ruthless as he usually is..." Riia got up from her seat, hastily placed some money on the table, and followed Gaara. Gretchen stared for a bit more, then followed Riia, an exasperated look on her face.


	11. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

I'm sorry for the wait, really. I'm just more of an artist than a writer, and right now I've been doing more drawing than writing. Please don't hold your breath waiting for the eleventh chapter. It may even never come. I'm busy now too, and what with another computer-less trip and school coming up, it probably **won't **get done. I'm very sorry, and I hope you all understand...

- Krii

P.S. - I'm also not a very motivated person, but I try to work around that. Gomen nasai.


End file.
